St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-08-10
IN BAD SHAPE.
Terribl e Condition of the Italian
Troops at Massowah.

LONDON, Aug. 9.-The French press
has become aroused by the offer of
England to establish a modus vivendi
between the Italian encampment ON the
Red sea, as they term it, and Abyssinia,
and profess to see in the British prOffer
of assistance to Italy another instance
of the deliberate purpose of England to
encourage Italy in her projects at Masso-
wah and other points, and to still fur
ther strain the relations between that
country and France. In view of the
likelihood that the position of Italy will
become less precariOuS through the inter-
vention of Great Britain, these journals
demand that the government interpose
its protest against England's interfer-
ence to render Italy's otherwise hope
less occupation of territory on the Red
sea secure. The Italians, they claim,
are virtually prisoners at MaSSOwah,
and if it were not for the fact that
King John has been repressed by
England and incidentally that that
monarch is still under the coer-
Give influence of John Bull, the sons
of Italy would long ago have met the
fate of King Pharaoh's forces. More
over, it is cOntended in support of the
demand for the interference of the
French government to prevent England
from lending aid to italy, that ammuni-
ton and hospital stores are freely loaned
to the Italians by the English, and of
these the former stand in great need.
Their communications with the Rome
government are irregular and uncer-
tain, and frequent SkirmiSheS with the
AbyssinianS and ever-present disease
have depleted their stores and enlarged
their sick list to such an extent that re-
Inducements are greatly needed. The
intense heat, sickness, the danger of the
confined position they occupy and a
woeful lack of the ordinary cOnveniences
of life have completely
DEMORALIZED THE TROOPS,
and suicides among officers as well as
men, through despair and frenzy, are
frequent. Added to the horrors of this
AlOula is at the head of $4,000 men
awaiting an opportunity to throw
his strength against the shattered
forces occupying MassOwah, and
the French journals claim that
Italy ought to fight her own way out of
the predicament she is in; that if she
cannot, nnaided, hold the position she
has sized, she must get out of it as best
{ she can, and that under no circumStan-
sces ought England after obtaining pos
session. actual or constructive, of
great portion of the Red sea cost and all
of Egypt, be permitted to voluntarily
assist another power in seizing and
holding what she herself does not want
of the remaining portions of accessible
and Truthful Africa. 1t is not
believed that Gen. Satilla has
succeeded in procuring respite of hos
tilities by bribing the neighboring
tribes, as he is said to have attempted
to do, for the chief source of subsist-
ence of the native tribes is the plunder
that they obtain from the intruders, and
they would not dare to conclude
treaty of peace without the authorize
ton of King John, who has shown thus
far no indication of wishing to make
terms with the invaders. Under the
circumstances it is probable that unless
England interferes to prevent it that
one decisive battle will be fought,
which will put an end to the Italian
scheme of occupation and her army of
occupation as well, and if Ras AlOula
does not attack Massowah within a
short time, it may be safely asserted
that it is because he has received at in
timation from England, through King
John, that he would better not.